Year: 2012

2 Comments

Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Van Halen

  By

Okay, yes, I am.

About a week ago, apropos of nothing, I felt the urge to do a post about covers of Van Halen songs. There is just something about Van Halen that transcends aversions to spandex and sexism. I have a feeling it has something to do with David Lee Roth (I can still un-ironically enjoy “Hot for Teacher”, but I can’t listen to “Why Can’t This Be Love?” without wincing). Though I can no longer stomach most of the David Lee wannabees who so littered the wasteland of my youth, I am still charmed by Roth’s unapologetic showboating. And if you can’t rock out to “Panama”, you just don’t know why rocking out was created, my friend.

Here, I give you a few choice Van Halen covers, beginning with my favorite Van Halen cover: the Black Diamond Heavies doing up “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” and proving that you don’t need guitar to be badass. And feedback-y.

 

 

Next, the minutemen covering… “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”. Hey, bite me, it’s the minutemen. And since it’s the minutemen, it will only take a minute of your time. Less than a minute, actually.

 

 

Next up, San Francisco swingsters from hell Lee Press-on and the Nails add big, beautiful horns to the horny “Hot for Teacher”.

 

 

And to round us out, “Jump” as covered by… Aztec Camera!? Like I said: Van Halen transcends boundaries.

 

 

In a moment of serendipitous timing, a few days after gathering this list of covers, Rick Saunders dished the info that Van Halen was featuring a new single on their website. Check out “Tattoo”.

 

Van Halen – Tattoo from Van Halen on Vimeo.

No comments

Band I Really Like: The Mountain Goats

  By ,

The Mountain Goats started making music in 1991. I learned about them considerably later, and they quickly became one of my favorite sources of what I can only call “dark dry bitter hilarious self-laceration you can sing along to.”

Today I bring you four videos – an introduction, of you haven’t met them before, a celebration if you have.

Woke Up New from Get Lonely, directed by Rian Johnson, who also directed the truly excellent Brick:

The Mountain Goats - Woke Up New

 

No Children, from Tallahassee; please note how the audience here is, in fact, singing along with great verve. Also, I really, really love this song, because it is kind of mean and awful and yet so perfectly describes a particular post-break-up feeling that there have been times I wanted to call someone and just play it down the phone at them at top volume. (I didn’t.)

http://youtu.be/JPy_fiv3sAw

 

Autoclave, from Heretic Pride; if I was going to make myself a warning label, it would include, among other things, the lyrics to this song:
http://youtu.be/RZ-2kbculaI

 

Sax Rohmer #1, also from Heretic Pride, because “I am coming home/to you/with my own blood in my mouth” gets me every time:

"Sax Rohmer #1" by The Mountain Goats

No comments

Video: Black Nails, by Pictureplane

  By

Pictureplane has some black nails. He also has some trippy visuals, which I would really like to see on a much larger screen so I can better grasp the meta-commentary of the bits of concert footage that flicker in and out. And I’m digging on his dance beats, too.

Basically, all y’all should watch this because it is weird and pretty and I like it.

"Black Nails" by Pictureplane

Credits:
Directed by Travis Egedy
Editing / Animation by Milton Melvin Croissant III
Filmed in Kazan, Russia by Dmitry Gordeev and Alina Valitova

No comments

More Deep Space Doom Funk from Phantom Tails

  By

 

Check out some new heavy, fuzzy synthfunk from one of our awesome discoveries of last year, Phantom Tails.

 

 

You can listen to and purchase the album, The Armageddon Experience, here, and if you’re in the Twin Cities, you can see them live on the following dates:

Jan 12 @ Hell’s Kitchen w/Fort Wilson Riot & Hevy Syrup

Jan 20 @ Turf Club w/ Sleeping in the Aviary

Feb 10 @ Triple Rock w/ SexCat & Umami

 

Phantom Tails @ Bandcamp

Phantom Tails @ Facebook

PhantomTailsTV

No comments

Postcards from the Table By The Stage: Mud, Blood and Beer, The Lakeside Lounge, 1/5/2012

  By , ,

IMG_4904

Mud, Blood & Beer is: Stephen Swalsky (bass), Jon Glover (guitar / vocals), Stephen Sperber (drums) and Jess Hoeffner (guitar / vocals) and last Thursday I kicked off my 2012 concert season with their show at the Lakeside Lounge. (There is no lake anywhere near the Lakeside Lounge.  Except maybe in the gutters by Tompkins Square Park in the spring, after a hard rain.)

Anyway, they play good old-fashioned rock and roll lightly infused with country, or else good old-fashioned country with sturdy rock and roll underpinnings, depending on how you want to look at things. However you want to file them, their songs feature everything I like: strong rhythm section, bursts of fancy picking, and the occasional pedal-steel filigree. As an example: their video for Mine the Light, from their brand new record, Gone for Good:

 

Mud, Blood & Beer - "Mine the Light"

 

They’re playing a record release show on Feb. 4 at the Bitter End. If you’re in the NYC area that weekend, stop in and check them out. In conclusion, here are some pictures from the Lakeside Lounge:

IMG_4916

IMG_4928

IMG_4896

No comments

JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound at the Beachland Tavern, Cleveland, OH, 12.1.11

  By

Hey, kids! Trying to get back on the pony after a tumultuous time, so here’s my criminally-overdue review of an incredible show.

I was in love and angry that night I headed down to the Beachland to see JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound. In Cleveland, we know a lot about being in love and angry. It’s a way of life, from how we feel about our sports teams to how we feel about the way our local government treats our city to the personal stories that play out on every street, every day. And there are many ways to deal with this way of being – some constructive, some violent, some destructive in subtle ways.

JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound saw to it that I worked it out through physical abandon. What I’m saying is, dudes’ll make you dance.

It’s clear from the get-go that JCBUS come with the strong intent to grab the crowd and move it. Echoing charismatic performers who have come before, the Uptown Sound started the show by playing an intstrumental groove, a little appetizer to give a taste of what was coming. Then over the boogie, keyboardist Andy Rosenstein prepped the crowd before he announced the man, who had been sequestered in the back until his grand entrance. Resplendent in white dinner jacket, black slacks and Janelle Monáe ‘do, Brooks set about engaging the crowd without hesitation and with no lack of confidence, though free of ego. I know I can make you dance, his demeanor projected, but I know you can leave, too, so I’m glad you’re here, and if you give me a chance, I know you’ll like what I’ve got for you.

With this attitude, it didn’t take long for Brooks to have the room (with a decent number of people on hand for a weeknight show in the Tavern) on his side. And like a lover who lives for giving pleasure, JCBUS weren’t going to let up once they hit that spot that made the crowd go, “Oh yes!” Pulling out a playlist that drew heavily from their latest album Want More (“Everything Will be Fine”, “Bad News”, “Sister Ray Charles”, etc.), a tune or two from earlier albums (“Baltimore is the New Brooklyn”, “The Beat of Our Own Drum”) and a couple of sing-along-with-me-now covers (“Tainted Love”, “I am Trying to Break Your Heart”), each song seemed to build upon the intensity of the previous one. Just when you thought they had blown their load by blowing the doors off the place with one song, they took the roof down with the next song. By the end of their heartily-demanded encore, there wasn’t a metaphorical beam or rafter left standing.

And while they had torn the place down, I felt built up. Many of the songs seemed to speak directly to my situation at the time, and moving my ass and stomping my feet to the fine-edged soul of JCBUS had a cathartic effect. “Things are shitty,” the music seemed to agree with me, “and the future doesn’t look too bright, but you’ve been through heavier trials than this before. You’ll come out the other side intact… and until then, don’t forget that booze and drugs are fun!”

In a year of great shows, JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound was one of the best I attended. If you have the chance, I cannot urge you strongly enough to check out this genuinely fun and entertaining show from this tight, hot group.

I don’t have photos or video of the night due to technical difficulties (damn battery-hog camera), but check out the video below of a different show (and more here) for a taste.

 

Feature photo by Nate Burrell, courtesy of KDHX

No comments

Feel Bad For You, January 2012

  By

 

The FBFY talent pool has corralled a smattering of favorite songs of 2011. Eclectic, quirky, odd… and that’s just the contributors. Stream or download below.

 

Download.

 

1. Title: Devil In New Orleans
Artist: Powder Mill
Album (2011): Southern Independent Vol. 2
Submitted By: Adam Sheets
Comments: Of all the exclusives we put on the three volumes of Southern Independent, this is probably my favorite.

2. Title: New Orleans
Artist: Robyn Ludwick
Album (2011): Out Of These Blues
Submitted By: Mando Lines (Jim Warren)
Comments: My favorite track off of one of my favorite records of 2011. Robyn Ludwick is a Robison, as in sister to Charlie and Bruce, but she’s got her own take on being a singer-songwriter. As New Orleans demonstrates, her voice is sexy, her lyrics are smart and her songs are real.

3. Title: The Reckoning
Artist: Mount Moriah
Album (2011): Mount Moriah
Submitted By: Ryan (Verbow at Altcountrytab)
Comments: One of the more upbeat songs off this album. Sweet vocals, beautiful melody, just makes you feel good all over. If you’ve ever liked any music described as “alt-country” you need to check this album out. A perfect blend of country and indie rock – go get this one now.

4.Title: I Make Enemies
Artist: Daniel Knox
Album (2011): Everyman for Himself
Submitted By: April @ Now This Sound Is Brave
Comments: Since I already submitted my favorite song of 2011 to the August FBFY, here’s my top runner-up from Couch by Couchwest alumni Daniel Knox. With some help from Akron, Ohio’s own Ralph Carney (Tin Huey, Tom Waits, the Black Keys), Knox spins a heartfelt tale of love for humanity. Ah, my cockles, they are warmed.

5. Title: Out With The Embers
Artist: Ghosts I’ve Met
Album (2011): From A Spark
Submitted By: erschen

6. Title: Out Of These Blues
Artist: Robyn Ludwick
Album (2011): Out Of These Blues
Submitted By: Truersound
Comments: Has been my favorite song for the better part of the year. I love everything about it.

7. Title: You Been Lyin’
Artist: Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
Album (2011): Scandalous (2011)
Submitted By: BoogieStudio22
Comments: Four of my top ten favorite albums leaned toward R&B and Soul-influenced sound. Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears captured it beautifully. Great band to see live too!

8. Title: You Devil You
Artist: John Paul Keith
Album (2011): The Man That Time Forgot
Submitted By: @mikeorren
Comments: Lots of new music this year, but I keep going back to this one. And I’m always a sucker for a Devil song.

9. Title: Workin’ Man Zombie
Artist: 4 On The Floor
Album (2011): 4 x 4
Submitted By: toomuchcountry
Comments: Nothing like a little optimism about the working life to begin the new year.

10. Title: Shut Up And Love Me
Artist: The Dead Exs
Album (2011): Resurrection
Submitted By: @Popa2unes
Comments: I’m trying to make it on 10 dollars a day, I’m working part time and their docking my pay, My baby tells me we got three mouths to feed, I’d stop complaining if she just say to me, Shut up and love me.

11. Title: Sweet Disposition
Artist: Lori McKenna
Album (2011): Lorraine
Submitted By: @Rockstar_Aimz
Comments: I think that this song may be about me.

12. Title: Before the Night is Gone
Artist: Zoe Muth & Lost High Rollers
Album (2011): Starlight Hotel
Submitted By: Simon

13. Title: Ashes Of Burned Out Stars
Artist: The Pollies
Album: N/A – Live From The Shoals track (rough)
Submitted By: Corey Flegel – This Is American Music
Comments: The Pollies are just another band along with DBT, Jason Isbell, The Civil Wars, Doc Dailey, and Lauderdale that hail from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. No big deal…they will have their proper coming out party in 2012. Be ready…

14. Title: Freaks and Geeks
Artist: Childish Gambino
Album: EP (2011)
Submitted By: Phil Norman | @philnorman
Comments: My favorite records of the year would be folks like Jason Isbell, Chis Thile & Michael Daves, Glossary, and Gillian. But when I looked at my iTunes playcounts, a little guilty pleasure was right there at the top. Donald Glover is insanely talented.

15. Title: Bummer
Artist: JEFF the brotherhood
Album (2011): We Are The Champions
Submitted By: annieTUFF
Comments: I was able to catch JEFF the brotherhood at the Pilot Light here in Knoxville back in September, and I feel really lucky that I did. It was an amazing show, one that I keep thinking about. (I posted about it on my tumblr…just in case you wanna see pics) It was definitely in my top live shows of 2011, sooooo I decided to pick a song off their 2011 album “We Are The Champions” for this mix.

16. Title: God-Fearing People
Artist: Kelsey Waldon
Album: Anybody’s Darlin’ EP
Submitted By: Trailer

One Comment

Video: Wounded Lion vs. Alan Jackson

  By

This is the video for Wounded Lion‘s song Roman Values, from their new record IVXLCDM:

 

Wounded Lion - Roman Values

 

I came across it when I was prodding the intertubes in search of more information about Wounded Lion – I saw them open for White Fence / The Fresh & Onlys / Thee Oh Sees on New Years and they were a highlight of an excellent show (pictures later!) – and when I came across this gem I HAD to share.

This is another one of their videos, for a song called Friendly?, which is from the same record. They made this one in POWERPOINT. I am doing a small gleeful dance, because BEST USE OF POWERPOINT EVER.

 

Wounded Lion - Friendly?

 

Meanwhile, this is the original 1992 video for Chattahoochee, by Alan Jackson. Or, rather, here is the same video as the first one above, with the “right” song playing over the visuals:

 

Alan Jackson - Chattahoochee

 

Y’all, I loved this song back when it was new, though I don’t think I had ever seen the video before, as at the time I tended to only listen to country on the radio while I was in the car. (Cranking up the country station was and is my (not-so) guilty pleasure when driving alone.) Watching it now I have the following thoughts:

1) Nice Baywatch bathing suit there in the first minute.

2) He really is water-skiing in a cowboy hat and boots. I may never stop giggling.

3) Also appreciating the ripped jeans AND the neon on the life vest. It sure was the ’90s.

4) But why is he wearing a Cowboys jersey? Georgia had a football team in 1992, right? [Atlanta Falcons: YES THEY DID. WE’VE BEEN HERE SINCE 1965!]

5) Damn it, this song is going to be stuck in my head for days.

6) Kind of amused that my thought process on viewing the Wounded Lion version was “Is that Alan Jackson?” and then “Alan Jackson + muddy river = That has to be Chattahoochee.”